It was my second day at this new school, and I hoped that I'd find Min-bae and Jodie quickly because everyone else was scary. I didn't really know where most of the classrooms were because the school was quite big, and I hadn't even been here for a week. Thankfully, I remembered where the registration class was, so walked straight there, gaining a few stares on my way. The door was open, I walked in and looked for Jodie and Min-bae. They were at the back again, and they noticed me and waved. I went over and sat beside Jodie.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, looking forward to another day?” Jodie asked.

“Uh, definitely not.” I shook my head.

The subjects that I was learning were fine, but my classmates were scary, and some of the teachers made the room feel eerie.

“Aww, what can I do to help?” Min-bae asked.

It was sweet that he was trying to help, but he couldn't exactly help me get over my fears of vampires and zombies.

“I don't think there's anything you can do. I suppose, keep everyone away from me. They all stare at me and I hate it.”

“We don't see many humans, especially not ones our age. I think everyone's just curious,” Jodie replied.

“Maybe, but it makes me uncomfortable.”

“By next week, you'll be old news.” Min-bae smiled.

“I really hope so.”

I couldn't go through the entire year with everyone staring at me, it would be far too awkward.

“Oh, by the way, you asked about Zeke yesterday. I forgot to tell you that he has an older brother, Mo, who's the most popular and powerful around here. He's only a year older than us, so you might see him in the hallways or something. Also, they're related to the most powerful vampire family in Egypt,” Min-bae said.

“Wow, I'd better not make him angry, then.”

A powerful vampire family could probably do whatever they wanted and get away with it. I'd have to be a bit nicer to Zeke from now on, and not attack him.

“I've never seen Zeke get angry, to be honest.” Jodie shook her head. “Mo, however, is a different matter.”

“Are you doing anything after school?” Min-bae asked, while looking at me.

“Uh, I don't think so.”

“Then, do you want to hang out with us? We could show you around the area.”

“Sure, I'll need to text my parents, though.”

It would be fun to see more of the area, since I hadn't really been anywhere other than my new house and school. I sent a quick text asking if I could hang out with Jodie and Min-bae after school; thankfully, my mum texted back soon, saying that it was fine.

“Actually, that reminds me, we don't have your number,” Jodie said.

“Oh yeah, let me give it to you,” I replied, then told them my number, and they put it into their phones. “So, where do you two live?” I asked.

“We live in a wee village called Belcoo, it's not far from here,” Min-bae replied, and my eyes widened.

“Oh my God! I live there!” I exclaimed.

“Aww, that's so cool. We all live in the same area,” Jodie said with a smile.

“Yeah, it's great.” I nodded.

Mrs Winter came into the room, and started the roll call. Anyone who wasn't here would be in trouble; from what I'd seen, Mrs Winter was very grumpy with the students who came in late.

The door opened, I looked to see who was coming in, and it was Zeke. He was going to be getting a detention during break.

“Sorry, I'm late,” he said.

“Oh, that's alright,” Mrs Winter replied with a smile.

What the hell? How was he getting off with this? He wasn't in any trouble at all, and Mrs Winter had been uncharacteristically sweet to him.

Zeke walked to the side of the room, and sat at a table by himself. Weren't all vampires supposed to be popular? Why was he sitting on his own?

“I'm so confused right now.” I put my head in my hands.

“About what?” Jodie asked.

“Well, like, why didn't Zeke get in trouble for being late? And why is he sitting on his own? I thought vampires had tons of friends.”

“Zeke comes from the Samy family, who, as I mentioned, are very powerful. They get away with everything. Zeke doesn't really have any friends, and prefers to keep to himself. Vampires could get nearly any friends they want, but he isn't like most vampires,” she replied.

“Do you know why?” I frowned.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

My classes until lunch were uneventful, and I'd got to sit with Min-bae and Jodie, which was great. It was a shame that I had Home Economics later; I'd have to sit with Zeke.

At the canteen there were all sorts of disgusting foods, like uncooked animal organs, rats, animal eyeballs, and some things that I couldn't even recognise. The sight of it really put me off eating, but I was too hungry to skip lunch. These revolting meals were something I'd never get used to. Thankfully, there were a few normal foods, so I picked a few pizza slices and chips.

It was very noisy in the canteen, and other students filled it so that the room was almost packed full. If we lived in a hotter country, we could eat outside, but it was autumn, which meant it was chilly and windy.

The white tables were all close together, probably to fit as many people in as possible. The three of us managed to squish in at the end of one of the tables; I sat beside Min-bae and Jodie sat opposite us.

“So, I forgot to ask, where are you from?” Min-bae looked at me.

“I'm from Belfast, what about you two?”

“I've lived here my whole life, but my family are originally from South Korea. My grandparents moved here when they were in their twenties,” Min-bae replied.

“Oh, that's so cool.”

“I've lived here all my life as well. I don't have any cool family from another country, unfortunately,” Jodie said.

“Oh, it's fine, I don't either.” I giggled.

I ate my food, and it was good, but all the yucky smells in the canteen put me off a bit. Jodie and Min-bae were eating beef burgers, so that smell wasn't off-putting, thankfully.

“Are you excited for our next class?” Jodie asked with a smile.

“Should I be?” I frowned.

“It's a class on vampires. We have lessons on all the supernatural,” she replied.

“Oh great, my favourites.” I sighed. “It'll only be good if we find out what'll get rid of a vampire.”

“Nah, we don't learn that.” Min-bae shook his head. “We just learn about their history and the different powerful families around the world.”

“I suppose it'll be better than something like Maths, which is a complete snooze-fest,” I said.

“Actually, I don't think you're going to enjoy the class. When we're learning about the different supernatural beings, you have to sit beside the ones we're learning about. So, in the class about vampires, all the non-vampires have to sit with a vampire.” Jodie sighed.

“Oh, for God's sake!” I exclaimed and hit the table.

Immediately, everyone looked in my direction, and my cheeks were roasting hot.

“Careful, all the vampires have super hearing,” Min-bae said.

“Great,” I replied sarcastically.

“When we have the lesson on werewolves, I'll sit with you.” He patted my arm.

“Thank you.”

“And, I'll sit with you in the mermaid class.”

“Thanks.”

I'd be fine in those classes, but what about the others? I didn't know any witches or zombies, and I didn't particularly want to. In the vampire class, I'd most likely sit with Zeke because he was the vampire who I knew the most. It'd be better to sit with one who I knew at least a bit.

After lunch, I went to the vampire lesson with my friends. My heart was beating superfast, even faster than The Flash when he was running. I was going to have to sit beside a monstrous vampire, who could suck all the blood out of my body within minutes.

The teacher for this class was Mr Lee, so he must've taught this as well as science. He took some of the attention off me, which was good — most of the girls, and some of the guys stared at him, and hung onto his every word.

“You may pick who you want to sit beside, but vampires and those of you who aren't vampires have to sit together,” Mr Lee said.

“You should sit with Zeke, he's the least troublesome vampire I know,” Jodie said.

“Yeah, I was thinking of sitting with him. Thanks.”

I looked around the room for him, then found him standing near the corner, with his hands in his pockets. Cautiously, I started making my way over to him.

A giant bumped into me, and I looked up, seeing a white guy who had distinctive red eyes. His hair was as black as the night sky, and almost covered his eyes completely.

“Oh sorry love. You smell so good.” He grinned, showing off his sharp, pointy fangs.

I'd never seen a Vampire's fangs before, and it certainly wasn't something that I ever wanted to see again. They were freaking nightmare inducing!

“Want to be my partner?”

“No, thank you.” I shook my head.

I wanted to yell at this monstrous vampire, but, making this vampire angry would be scarier than going on a rollercoaster.

“Ach, come on. I can teach you a lot about vampires, even give you some private lessons.” He winked at me.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Zeke shouted, and grabbed the scary vampire's arm.

“Oh man, I'm sorry. I'll just be on my way.” He walked away.

That was surprising, I hadn't expected Zeke to help, or that guy to just leave so easily. The creepy vampire was very tall, whereas Zeke was an average height. Others must've been scared of him or his family to just do whatever he told them to.

“Uh, thanks for the help.”

“Oh my, Fiona, are you okay?” Min-bae asked, as he came towards me.

“Yeah, I'm okay.” I nodded.

“Sorry, I was about to do something when Zeke handled it.”

“Oh, don't worry. It's fine.”

Zeke was standing still quietly. I was going to have to ask him to be my partner, or get stuck with some blood sucking creep.

“Zeke, will you be my partner?”

“Umm, of course,” he replied.

“I'm going to go find a partner now. I'll see you after class,” Min-bae said.

“Sure, see you after.”

Half the seats around the room were taken, but there were some people still looking for partners. Hopefully, the class would have an even number so that no one was left out; although the creepy vampire would be much better on his own. I got a seat with Zeke near the front of the class so that I'd be able to see the board properly.

“I'm sorry that guy was being creepy,” Zeke said.

“Oh, thanks. You don't need to apologise, though, you aren't in control of him.”

Maybe I'd misjudged Zeke, he seemed like a genuinely kind person. I could make an exception for him, and be his friend, but he was the only vampire I'd do it for.

“I don't like it when my kind act like that, it makes vampires look bad.” He sighed.

“Yeah, a bit,” I replied and nodded.

“Oh, if you need any help with this stuff, just let me know. I'm very knowledgeable on vampires.”

“Thanks, I kinda expected that. We might even study your family.”

“What?” He frowned.

“I just heard that you come from one of the most powerful vampire families in Egypt.”

“Oh, you found out about that,” Zeke said, and there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Please don't treat me any differently.”

“Well, I'm being more friendly so that I don't anger you or your family. But, that's not really a bad thing, is it?”

“Uh, I guess not,” Zeke replied and shrugged.

I looked round to see who Min-bae and Jodie were sitting with; Min-bae was beside a gorgeous girl, she had long black hair, heart shaped lips and super pale white skin. I wished I could've been sitting with him instead of that girl. Min-bae was so warm and friendly, and had the face of an angel. I was slightly jealous of that vampire girl. Jodie was beside beautiful girl as well — the vampire bad black skin and long black curly hair. There really weren't any ugly vampires, but if they had a bad personality, it would make them even uglier than a blobfish.

During the class, I learned more about vampires, such as the oldest vampire, the youngest human to be turned into a vampire, and the oldest vampire family in the world. It was pretty interesting. I'd talked to Zeke a bit more, and he really did seem normal for a vampire.

****

After school, I got a lift back to Belcoo with Jodie's parents, who were attractive, just like all the vampires and mermaids.

They dropped us off on the side of the road, near the large park, then drove off. We walked down onto the grass, which seemed to go on forever. There were a few large trees, but it was mainly grass.

“You seem to be getting on with Zeke,” Jodie said.

“Yeah, he's nice,” I replied with a nod.

“I'm glad he helped you out, I was really worried about you.” Min-bae sighed.

“I was scared to death, to be honest. It's just as well Zeke and you were around. I literally have nothing to defend myself with.”

“You could always use a kitchen knife,” Jodie replied.

“Yeah, but I'm not going to be carrying that to school, I'd get in so much trouble. Plus, I don't think it would do much good against a vampire, considering how fast they are.”

“Yeah, it'd be near impossible for any human to beat a vampire. The only ones who could match them are another vampire, a werewolf, a witch, or a rabid zombie. A normal zombie is no good, but when they get sick, they get really fast and aggressive,” Min-bae said.

“I'll just have to rely on others until I find out what scares a vampire.”

“Well, we're both here for you,” he said.

“Thanks, I'm glad we're friends.” I smiled.

Jodie and Min-bae were great, and I was delighted that it had been Jodie who I'd met on my first day. If I'd met someone else, I could have entirely different friends, or no friends at all.

A white guy with long silver hair ran up to us, and he looked familiar, so I assumed that he went to my school. He was a vampire, I could tell by his red eyes.

“Here, I got this lovely berry for you,” he said, and held out a dark purple berry. It was big and round.

“Well, that's not suspicious at all,” I replied sarcastically.

Min-bae took it, then sniffed it. “The berry isn't poisonous.”

“Okay, I'll try it, then.” I took the berry and put it into my mouth.

As soon as I took a bite, all the saliva in my mouth dried up, causing my face to scrunch up. The berry didn't even taste of anything, either. I spat the horrible thing out and glared at the vampire.

He was laughing hysterically like a hyena.

“What the hell?” I exclaimed.

“Oh my, are you alright?” Min-bae asked, and he put his strong arm around me, making my heart race. He was nice and warm on this cold, dark day.

“That thing took away all of my saliva!”

“You deserve it, humans aren't welcome here!” The guy exclaimed, then ran off at the speed of light.

“Oh, that was so mean, don't you listen to him,” Min-bae said, and patted my back.

“I have some water if you need it,” Jodie said.

“Yes please!” My mouth was as dry as the desert on the hottest day. It was horrible, and I felt like I could drink a lake full of water.

She got a water bottle from her bag, then handed it to me, and I took down a few big gulps of water. I handed it back to her.

I walked around the park with Min-bae and Jodie, and the place was lovely. Then they showed me around the village, and we went into a few of the small shops. The place was cute, but I missed my home, and the city. Things had started well, but now these vile vampires had it out for me.